Lately I have been obsessed with two things: the vagaries of the Seattle School District’s math curriculum and cat pee.
These perturbations have kept me awake at night and have consumed many of my daylight hours.
So it was a relief a few weeks ago to be reminded that art has the power to transcend almost anything and what it can’t transcend, it can soothe.

Lately I have been obsessed with two things: the vagaries of the Seattle School District’s math curriculum and cat pee.
These perturbations have kept me awake at night and have consumed many of my daylight hours.
So it was a relief a few weeks ago to be reminded that art has the power to transcend almost anything and what it can’t transcend, it can soothe.

Let's be honest for a second: After about 3 p.m. on Friday afternoon, the brain is pretty much shot, and the likelihood of actually getting any work accomplished plummets. So when you need to take a short internet break this afternoon, here's handy list of local designers who are making efforts to be eco-conscious.

I can’t say I knew Dave Niehaus well. But in the years I spent covering television and sports in Seattle, I came to appreciate him not as legendary broadcaster or gifted storyteller – certainly he was both – but as a person of enormous dignity.

If my article now out in the November 2010 "Meat" issue of Seattle Magazine on the cyclocross craze sweeping the region tickled your fancy at all, now is your chance to check out the wild and wooly sport in person. This coming Sunday November 14, Seattle-based MFG Cyclocross is putting on its second annual Woodland Park Gran Prix 'cross race. If you are a racer, goto BigeReg.com to pre-register for the race.

I’m feeling a little retrospective today: A year ago, I was still scrambling to find one semi-new shop to cover for our monthly Shopping Around column (see our November edition here). Fast-forward to 2010 and three stellar new shops have opened their doors this week alone. Can we all dance a little jig for a moment?

It's that time of year again, time to put your garden to bed for the winter. But fret not: Seattle Tilth's got your back. And they will hold your hand, especially if you attend their upcoming workshop, "Putting the Garden to Bed." Tilth reports that Fall is a fantastic time to replenish the soil, and will show attendees some inexpensive or free ways to build your soil using materials on hand. A little work now can pay dividends come spring, so don't miss this workshop. Saturday, November 6, 10 a.m.

Must HearSeattle Radio Theatre: DraculaFriday (10/29) - Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre is best know for its 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds, but months before freaking people out during that show, it aired a live radio version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Seattle Radio Theatre is reproducing this take on the Gothic tale, live, onstage with plenty of Halloweeny sound effects. 7 p.m. Prices vary. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave.; 206.652.4255; townhallseattle.orgMust Dress upFirst Hill Costume Crawl

The folks at University Bookstore emphasize that former President Carter will not be speaking during his appearance today—merely signing his new book We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan that Will Work (2009). But we’re betting he’ll at least say hello, right? And that’s cool enough reason to be there.